Forgotten
by Gotheh
Summary: After a tragic accident, Gibson looses his entire memory of the past, with this ‘new’ Gibson romance soon ensues. But, in a race against time to retrieve his memory, which planet will be destroyed? Shuggazoom? ... or Earth?
1. The Explosion

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own the monkey team... those cute monkeys are copyright to their respectful owner. In the day she's a high fly Sparx and Nova fan... but at night, she becomes a Gibson Nova fan! Dun Dun Dun!

I feel like I am the only one... Cripes, it burns to be the only female doesn't it? pats a terrified Nova who is petrified of all these romantic fan-fics. The ending is what you want to be looking for, but don't skip this... this is intense stuff XD

I'm not an expert in this show... feel free to give me pointers. But don't criticize me for my own opinions in the story... it's for my own amusement mainly, and if you don't like it? First step- Click Back.

Note: I don't have a clue why I put G-forces in space, but I'm to lazy to change it. Also, I might add I have no idea what the Super Robot looks separated, so I improvised, and also, those things that are attacking them? I picture them as flying pieces of shiny glass with a point like a triangle. So yeah... I'm sorry.

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"I need backup Sparx! The right wing is getting bashed to pieces!" Chiro's voice came in loud and clear in the receiver of the Super Robot.

"There is way too many for me to do a darn thing!" Sparx's voice came barreling backwards in response."These guys just don't give up!" Nova listened to the contrast of the boys voices and keeping her gaze fixed on her monitor to what was going on, half listening to what they where saying and half trying to keep herself from being diced into bite-sized pieces... the monkey team was desperately fighting a loosing battle, the idea of victory was slowly slipping...

Barely visible against the starry field outside, a fleet of deadly looking spaceships, that where black in hue. They appeared polished so when the sun's light hit it, they glinted. When they flew close, one could plainly see the super robots reflection in them, but it's not like they stayed around long enough to be seen any ways.

Sparks was right, there where way to many to keep track of. They had worn out the aspect to shoot them down one by one, or target them for that matter; every time they had released a pod of torpedoes, the fleet formation would scatter in just moments, allowing the missals to pass them harmlessly, and then convene again into an attack position, ensuing their swift attacks without mercy... Dodging, swirling, dipping, twisting and turning like shards of flying broken glass. They continuously aimed themselves towards the suspended Super Robot, inflicting sharp fiber glass cuts in the metal skin before the victims could react.

"Chiro," Antauri's base voice suddenly seemed to appear from the heavens... "It would be wise to call of the attack. There are far too many, and we are too cumbersome to defend ourselves."

Suddenly an explosion of metal was overheard mangled in with the surprised cry of Otto trying to shout up to his teammates... though what he said was inaudible, for the super robot rocked backwards with a sickening lurch, sending five monkeys and a boy sailing from their seats. The loud crashing of equipment and bending and cracking of metal was now constant. Nova struggled to untangle herself from a horde of twisted cords, ending up biting through a few of them to make it back to her post. Obviously, Chiro was the first to fully recover.

"Everyone ok?" he asked (there was another crash that sounded as though something large just snapped in half)

"We're good over here." Sparks announced, as if concluding that he was comfortable flying out of his chair and crashing into a wall...

"Tell that to my aching skull..." Nova grumbled.

"I don't know what is going on here!" Otto's voice came in muffled and distressed "I can't move nothing!"

"It appears the main frame chord for the operating system has been severed," Gibson's nervous voice came in "your pilot is no longer mobile Otto."

"Shoot." There was another pause as everyone seemed to hold their breath...

"What if we separated and ditch these guys in the asteroid belt?" suggested Nova "Sparx, you could get Otto to a safe spot to dock and we can find a way to repair him." She waited as there was another spell of silence, there was not much time to think of a better plan; every fleeting moment that passed them by the robot was being destroyed, and them along with it.

"Ah, a divide and conquer tenique... but perhaps not strong enough to conquer..." Gibson said pensively.

"Worth a shot." Chiro could be heard again, "I just hope we have enough fuel to get there."

"Indeed," agreed Antauri "but then we cannot go solitaire, we must travel in pairs until the invaders fall back."

So after all agreeing, they dispersed, it took only a few minutes to separate completely, they flew in different directions, Sparx and Otto taking a pitch downwards, Chiro and Gibson taking a shot upwards, and Antauri and Nova heading directly towards the asteroids.

The plan seemed to work, the ships appeared to become confused as one whole, darting one way towards one monkey pair, then averting their decision and ascending, then again halting. Their form become one huge quivering clod of back mass where they where previously stationed the Super Robot, they did not continue pre sue them.

"When will we meet back up?" Sparx questioned with a hint of annoyance lurking just underneath "I mean, for crying out loud, carrying around Otto is a pain in the tail..." (there was a defensive retort after this from Otto and shortly after, a dispute had begun between Sparx and him in the background of the transmission)

"Lead them away from Shugazume first..." Chiro instructed "we cannot take any chances of bringing danger down there. Like Nova said, find a good spot to dock, so Gibson can fix Otto's pilot."

"Can't say no to a lady." came Sparx's response, at this Nova bit her lip and ignored the comment, being so far away to give him physical chastisement, arguing would only provoke him further.

"Uh... guys... are you seeing what I'm seeing? Cause my readings don't look so good..." Otto's voice suddenly seemed to ring a imaginary alarm bell in the receiver, swapping the subject completely... Nova turned her attention to the red and green figures on her tracking screen. Sure enough, the legion of shards where cruising at light speed towards her and Antauri. They where gaining on them so fast it was frightening... 1 kilometer... 500 meters... 80 yards...

"Why are they going after us? We are not damaged!" Nova blared in a half panic, shifting her thrusters on high... Antauri had did the same, they both now sped side by side in perfect unison, a few spinning asteroids appeared in her line of vision... they where on the brim of the asteroid belt.

"After you!" and exasperated Chiro reeled inwards "No joke! Their chasing us!"

"You guys are nuts, I've got these guys are right behind us!" Sparx snorted in disbelief. "Though I must say I think Otto is doing a pretty good job of blocking most of their attacks with his ship..." (Otto could be heard howling a strange concoction of curses in the background)

"They look as though they are the same exact amount of UFO's that attacked us when we where as one, as though they have not separated themselves. Do you think they might have the ability replicate?" Antauri queried firmly to anyone who had an answer. His voice was so calm compared to everyone else's, but concealed a worry underneath… he had nerves of steel that Nova only dreamed of having… she was slightly distracted as she observed him nosedive skillfully under an asteroid and bring it back up to her side.

"Maybe," Gibson replied thoughtfully... "Either way... there are more of them where me and Chiro are headed..." Nova looked up ahead and scanned her radar carefully, but there was no sign of anything ahead of them... but she spotted Sparx and Otto a few hundred yards ahead, they where still connected to each other, Otto was swinging below Sparx craft like a swing... threatening to fall into space at any given moment. As it rocked, his momentum made Sparx's vessel jolt violently in random directions, making it seem like an old beat up giant flywheel...

"Hold on, I'm going to see if I can hold these guys off for yah." Nova pulled her break lever in reverse, her speed abating greatly down to a full halt, leaving Antauri free to join the others clustered up ahead.

"Good luck." Otto said in a pessimistic manner, it sounded as though he was being jostled and the words did come out quite right, more like "B-g-good cluvk"...

"Yeah right." Nova remarked, a smirk edged itself up the side of her maw. She turned the ship around so she faced the oncoming stampede of glass, activating all possible weapons she was equipped with, which ranged from missals, bombs, flame throwers, lasers, light beams and other unnecessary gizmos.

Her smirk seemed to expand as the shards of glass became visible on the horizon, glinting amber bright from the sun that silhouetted them from behind them. They where large, like huge sharp boulders shot from a huge bow and arrow, flinging themselves without mercy towards her... an intimidating stance she wasn't going to buy.

"Ok tough guys..." she steadily energized her laser cannon located just underneath her as she began to fly forward, gaining velocity rapidly, the sides of her vision beginning to blur... rocks flying all around her, white stars from far away disappearing into a black background. She settled herself comfortably in her chair, her tail coiling tightly around the 'fire' button.

"Ya want me?" The closest shard was only several yards away... From somewhere she thought she heard someone yell out in excitement, but she couldn't understand who or what it was...

"You gotta fight for it suckers!" she snarled, revealing her sharp white fangs.

With that she opened fire.

A dazzling light show soon followed, lasers shot rapidly into the air as Nova launched batches after batches of missals aimed straight for the cloud of lethal ships. This time they had no time to scatter... their fate was sealed.

She had entered the ship cloud, loosing all sense of direction and sensibility, a heavy dust began to rise as a tremendous noise like a hundred fire crackers erupting in unison... she lost track what she was firing at, but continued to fire just the same, her pilot spinning and diving whenever she saw something ready to strike her, blasting away relentlessly... she kept this up for who knows how long.

When she neared the end of the confines of the cloud where the space was clear she ceased fire for a momentary spell. She whipped herself to climb the space area with a sharp intake of breath, G-forces of space sucking her into the seat as she rose up in a vertical stance, tipping the nose of her carrier back so now she flew upside down. She saw a ship rocket past behind her dangerously close that made her swerve of track. She recognized was of her teammates,determining the silver metallic glint rather then the dark forbidding of the enemy. Although, this team mate was almost more unbearable then any foe she faced...

More shots rang out loud and clear, whisking past her windows with breakneck speed... emitting everything to high pitched whistles to firecracker screams deafened the atmosphere. It became clear to her that Sparx had brought his tailgaters along with him and was now fighting along side her in order to eliminate them...

She performed a dive-barrel roll back down shooting at everything that dared moved... emitting a yeti screech from her high pitched vocals.

("Nova!") The sootish powder was so heavy too see through, she had to squint she parted the dust clearing, firing at fragments of blown up shards, they where moving... maybe to reform... why where they still MOVING!

("Nova! You-") Now there where only particles, she proceeded to engage a full swipe cherry bomb to make sure...

"**NOVA!"** Someone shouted so loud she momentarily clamped her hands to her prosthesis constructed ears, snapping her eyes shut as her entire vessel vibrated.

"What!" she spat back, saliva flying... it was an automatic response to her. She looked up, spotting Sparx's unit hovering just above hers only at about a right angle. She peered peevishly upwards through the glass of her pod with her arms tightly crossed she spotted the scarlet furred monkey laughing like a maniac in his chair, one hand covering his face to help settle himself down from his own dangerous enjoyment, giving her the thumbs up sign with the other.

"I think it's safe to say you got them!" Nova looked around... all that was left of the force that had seemed so threatening only moments before... now floated in a mere dust cloud that was slowly fading. She looked around for a moment before a grin spread over her features.

"YEAH!" she jeered punching the air in her victory. "That didn't take very long at all!" "Actually it took you about, eh, a half an hour without my help." added Sparx with a sadistic grin. Nova's "happy moment" bubble seemed to deflate as Sparx's voice seemed to puncture it.

"Of course, you where having so much fun, I gave you more stuff to shoot at." Nova scowled malignly, she rose up to where Sparx hovered watching her at a comfortable stance, his arms folded behind his head, seeing her blow up at him for his wise cracks countless times, he had required many welts on his helm before he learned that when to pushing Nova's buttons, you had to push them and run for your fur. But this time, she couldn't touch him in his craft.

She paused, sending him a death ray before she lurched her craft forward towards the deeper parts of the asteroid belt, Sprx quirked a brow and followed suit.

It wasn't long before she could spot Otto's vessel marooned on a slowly revolving asteroid. It looked as bad as it sounded... Otto's ship was gashed on all sides, chords protruded up from the metal shell, twitching as they had been cut and where now glowing faintly from over heating. Beside the damaged ship, she identified Gibson's vessel planted close by.

"Go ahead and land..." came Otto's dismal voice. "It looks like I might be here a while..." as she squinted she could see a green monkey lying lazily on the control chair, his tail swinging uselessly side to side somberly.

"Gibson said that the 'damage is significant', I'm the best mechanic on team! I could fix it!"

"None of that sort of language." snapped Gibson, which Nova was unable to locate "I said it would take a few minutes to reinstall a new chord that's all. You could fix it, but there is a profusion amount of carbon dioxide leaking into your compartment, which also indicates that there is no barrier from you and the outside world, so if you went to get your suit you'd be crushed by the space pressure. Besides, I'm the only one with the chord…" Otto seemed drowned in Gibson's sea of words and definitions, and quite frankly, he had no idea what it meant... Nova could see him slouch down in his chair in disgust.

"Where are Chiro and Antauri?" asked Nova as she settled the ship down on the rocky asteroid terrain, small eddies swirled and spiraled under the legs of the ship as she touched down, her systems unclenching and clicking as the engines cooled down in relief. She kicked back in her retractable chair, putting the heels of her feet upon one of her screen panels as she stretched herself, mouth opening to yawn loudly... her tail curling around her feet.

"They're off finishing the job." Gibson explained "They wanted me to fix Otto as quickly as possible in case more come... not that I can heal everything those destructive mutated alkaloids inflicted, (ugh this stupid broken panel what is this doing here?) but I can get him back up and running and finish the rest at home, but the damage is (grunt) very well done... there is fiber glass everywhere..." his voice trailed off into grumbles of discontent as the clatter of machinery could be heard from the background.

"Gibson where in sans-helm you?" Sparks confused voice came from behind, "You on Otto's ship already?"

"(Grunt) No, I'm outside, but I can see in... you won't believe the mess he has neglected to clean up... Otto what did you do? Allow a veggie bomb explode while we where sleeping?" "No!" Otto spluttered suddenly in his defense

"Just... I... just, ate something that's all." "Well what did you eat? A twenty pound mud cake?"

"Well actually I-"

"Don't answer that please."

"Monkey Team!" Chiro's voice came in through the receiver. "You've got company! Look to your left, there is one more ship heading your way! We've got our hands full over here!"

It was like a wave of relief for Nova, it gave her something to do rather then listen to the males bickering...

"Must have slipped their fingers..." she had already started up her tank and had begun to elevate of the asteroids surface.

"No problem, we can spruce them off for you Chiro."

"I've got it fixed!" Gibson declared, (seemingly just at the right moment) his tone had shifted to a rather enthused one. "Hold on Otto, I'll just run back to my ship and you can move again."

Both Sparks and Nova both floated on alert, scanning the skies wearily for any sign of the invaders... but for what it seemed, it was completely serene... it was lifeless quiet save for them. Only the gentle revolving of asteroids that had hung undisturbed for thousands of millenniums reached their sight.

"Aw man, the whole team is going to be ready and there is gonna be no action!" complained Otto from down below, he was attempting to restart his engine without much success, it ship seemed to utter a loud belch and that's was about it... As she peered closer into the ominous darkness of space she thought she had seen a shadow shift and then freeze in front of a star, barring it from view... the movement only something with individual capacity would make...

"There is one right there... just like Chiro said... look to your left Sparx... Sparx... the left... your OTHER left you ninny!" There was a light clang of Otto's ship, As Nova glanced over her shoulder she saw a navy blue monkey drop to the ground from the outside of the ship and start sprinting as fast as he could on the asteroids minor gravity back to his own, a path of asteroid dust curling behind his quick pace.

The sound of something cutting through air ... a gentle whisper of frictiondrew her attention back to the unidentified flying object... which was reaching them quicker then she had expected, it's form becoming apparent through the large asteroids.

She opened fire without a moments hesitation, so did Sparx... but the shard dodged them, avoiding their fire and cruising towards the asteroid.

"It's gonna blow us up!" Otto panicked from down bellow, who was trying harder then ever to reboot his engine... still unsuccessful he uttered a few loose curses. Finally Sparx was able to hit it directly... it began to disintegrate rapidly, turning the gleaming black glass into a bright green fireball...

"Hit!" announced Sparx proudly. But the fireball continued to barrel... seeming determined to carry out it's despicable deed. Nova finally realized what it was aiming for, so did Sparx...

"MOVIT GIBSON!" ... it was too late... In slow motion, Nova recalled Gibson's petrified expressions just before the speeding fire hit... he stood only a few yards away from the door of his ship... but still not close enough to reach safety...

In slow motion... he saw the fireball's intense light illuminating the ridges and craters of the asteroid and the fear highlighted in his facetted eyes like a painting, his mouth cracked open slightly in surprise...

Only feet away, Gibson's fur rippled back as he put his metallic arms up across his chest in a defensive mode, curling his lower body up to his head whilst his long tail coiling around his neck... even though it would be useless...

In that single moment... in a heartbeat... in a beat of a birds wings... Nova's life forever more was turned inside out.


	2. Memory Lane

This chapter drags a bit for me, BUT! Seriously! Stay awake if you might. Some things may tell you something you might wish you have paid better attention to later on. "All possibilities for anything and everything are open." Remember this quote.

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_This story first started out for my own amusement, but now it's proudly dedicated to someone, my Grandfather. He was involved in an accident on Memorial Day, and is suffering from serious head drama. He left in the ambulance trying to yank the sedation equipment out of his mouth, just like the soldier he is. _

_Although the ordeal is very grim, he defied all odds and recuperating, but mental status is still unknown. He doesn't recognize loved ones, and keeps rambling about events that took place twenty years ago... he also uses out of place vocabulary. _

_He gave me a hug today though, bless him. _

_It inspired me in this story, which I can relate my Grandpa to Gibson and his role in the story with most respects, (though his demeanor keenly reminds me more of Sparx-77) So I hope some of you might keep this in mind when your reading. _

---

What happened next seemed to strike in photographic stages...

First came a shock wave from the force of the collision, like an invisible wave pushing her and Sparx's ships background. They clanged so noisily into each other, that Nova barely heard the glass break on one of her windows...

The tremendous force pulled back on them, with the likeliness of a huge tide dragging them into the sea... their crafts lurched forwards toward the asteroid where the light of the eruption was expanding it's diameter rapidly across the ground; flooding over Otto's ship and soon Nova's.

Her eyes where blinded as the light became more and more intense... she shrieked in agony as a sharp piece of metal punctured her arm... she couldn't hear anything at all...

Her vision whited out.

---

Marooned on a star scope... the dark vastness of space enclosing her mind to focus on the brightest thing she could see; the planet of Shuggazume city. A marbled sphere of pink and white hues, hanging ever so innocently in the distance.

There was a cold, isolated silence...

"What am I doing here?" she asked herself aloud, her voice echoed off of invisible walls. She waved her arms around to rotate herself, scanning the area for any sign of her team mates. Nothing. Her scanners read nothing, her eyes saw nothing. She was utterly alone.

Swaying herself towards Shuggazume again, shock and disbelief contorted her mind in an extreme case of ataxia...

"They're... gone... they're all gone..." she whispered, her mouth going dry. Something moved from her peripheral vision. She spun around while adopting a battle stance, her mitts enlarging in size, tail stiffening, her eyes narrowed as she browsed the star scope ahead...

Something within the depths of space shifted and lurched towards her. She glimpsed it's polished glass coating, then the burning outline of a deadly figure...

It was a single shard.

She brought her mitts above her head, ready to smash it, rage coursing through her tiny frame; this is what made her alone... and she was gonna finish it. Her glare soon transformed itself to a stare, pink eyes widening...

Another shard had appeared behind the original... then another, and then another! They where rising from all corners of space like a storm of locusts... whirling viciously as their sharpened points curved towards her.

"No WAY!" she swung one of her enhanced fists towards the closest one and missed by a short shot. The sea of slick glass mutated to blurs as they skinned past her without even a small cut. Their interest seemed much more piqued in what lay in yonder...

She spun around and found their dark triangular figures disappearing in the magenta and white of Shuggazoom.

"No ya DON'T!" she yowled, trying to activate her jet pack. Nothing happened, the jet pack emitted a dying splutter and it coughed up a plume of smoke.

"NO!" next she punched the air in rage and hurt, but her fist recoshayed backward. Her knuckles had struck something solid.

"Yargh!" She punched the air again, harder this time, and her paw was suddenly being held shut by another hand. This time the reply was sharper, but reassuring.

"Nona! Stob! (Kehrrgg...) Bit's me!"

"Wha?" her eyes slowly flickered open in a daze, then snapped shut again as a blinding light met her eyes. Bewildered, Nova found the scene of space and Shuggazoom fading into a white background.

Her body eventually found itself laying down on something soft. Again, she slitted her eyes open, slowly and with care this time, allowing her optics to wane as light poured inside her various irises. Her vision swam before her, she became aware of the glint of metal... and then gradually she began to see distorted figures.

"Where?" she questioned in confusion.

"Home." came the answer.

Nova turned her head towards the source of the voice, recognizing it as Chiro's. Her vision came to focus as she found his young profile; fourteen year old child, youthful, genuinely pleasant to gaze upon. He donned a maroon sweater, it was torn here and there and looked as though it wasn't cleaned properly for some time. His jeans where keenly similar. Two ice blue eyes, framed by jet black hair brightened in relief as she warily sat herself up.

She paused for a moment while regaining balance, circulation rushed to her brain. She eyed Chiro dumbly, then laughed; she had socked him straight in the navel, and now the boy was pinching it with one hand.

"Still fighting even in your dreams huh?" Chiro croaked. His voice had acquired an unbearable tangy accent, though he was grinning that his teammate was awake and moving.

"Yeah-heh.." Nova grinned slightly abashed "They're usually better though... sorry bout that..." she quickly glanced around the room. It was similar to infirmary; six beds popped out smoothly from the ground, three lined up neatly on each side of the room. A different colored stripe ringed each base, one for each monkey. As her gaze wandered she spotted Sparx who was the only other monkey in the room.

His eyes where closed...

"So what happened?" she asked grimly, dangling her legs off the side of the bed. Her eyes where locked over Sparx's unconscious body, she could just see his chest rising and falling gently in rhythm with his slumber.

"Well we heard an explosion over the transmitter," said Chiro, also directing his gaze on Sparx. "By then most of those UFO's where gone... we where just about to go look for you guys. Then we saw the light of an explosion a few miles or so away. It was not hard to find you."

Nova slowly slid off her bed to the floor, whence a short spasm of pain erupted in her right front limb. She clamped her hand to it in alarm, finding a few segments of metal blown completely off, the inside conjunctions and gidgets that allowed her arm to move where completely visible. Chiro sighed unhappily.

"We had to take them it off. There was a piece of metal stuck in your arm and the hole there was impossible to patch up. Don't worry though; you're luckier off then Gibson or Otto. We can fix it up in no time."

"I would like to see them." it was the mentioning of Otto and Gibson that made her remember how close they where to the explosion.

"See them?" "Yeah, if it's as bad as you say it is, then I gotta take a look at it." At first she felt as though Chiro might object, but he simply motioned for her to fallow him. She loped awkwardly behind him, her tail bouncing up behind her to keep her balance.

"Well, you and Sparx where lucky." said he, as they neared the end of the room. "You and him where the first to wake up."

"Hold it, Sparx was already awake?" she started incredulously. "He looked almost dead to me!"

"Sure, he woke up several times to see if things where all right. I practically had to force him to rest." As the double doors automatically opened and Chiro and Nova entered, she glanced behind her and just glimpsed the red monkey turning over in his sleep before the doors closed again. The shaft lurched upwards with a long drawling moan. It made one wonder how the Super Robots systems where still working.

"What about Otto and Gibson?" Chiro's face darkened slightly as the shadow from his hair fell over his eyes. There was light bump and the cart quavered.

"Not so good." he said solemnly. "Gibson got full blast of the explosion and Otto is in critical condition. They're both in the laboratory with Antauri." The elevator slowed to a stop, the stations doors swung open again and they walked out slowly. Nova's bottom jaw nearly unhinged itself...

"Holy shitzel-"

The bridge, usually used for relaxation, or tracking and investigating in battle, was now unrecognizable. Once proud, arching couches where sliced into fractions and where flung around the room. Half of the CPU screen was split right down the middle and the rest was gone. White fluff and glass where flying everywhere like hail (the breeze courtesy of wall of the room that had mysteriously disappeared).

Many objects where missing, the main computers where ripped clear from their foundations, leaving huge gaping holes in the wall, and the ceiling had a large pole penetrating through the ground, like bones through skin.

"We haven't actually had much of a chance to fix anything." Chiro said sheepishly, "And Otto is not going to be able to fix anything any time soon."

"I guess not!" the yellow monkey spluttered as she picked her way carefully through slum. She kicked a toppled chair out of her path. "This will take forever to clean up! Hey Chiro, would you get a load of this..." Nova pushed a large shell from a keyboard that once belonged to a computer. It was part of a massive assemblage of rubble that had miraculously wedged itself right in front of the only usable door in the room...

"What are the odds of that huh?" she mused as Chiro chuckled and started mining at it, tossing odds and ends in every which way behind him. He was soon joined, and the room was quickly filled with the clatter of raining spilth.

"What about those UFO things? Did you ever see anymore of them?" she questioned curiously. So many questions where springing up into her mind it was hard not to ask them all at once...

"No, as far as we could see, we got the best of them," he shrugged, "I guess they could not handle us when we where more mobile, but..." his voice trailed off apprehensively as he cast aside what looked remarkably like a fry burner...

Nova stared at him.

"What?" she challenged him after he didn't continue, prodding him with the metal beam of her tail. "Don't 'but' me." Chiro paused; he stopped digging at the trash heap and snuffed, putting the back of his hand up to his nose gingerly. Nova could see him wiping a little blood that was still wandering down his philtrum from her attack. His gaze shifted back to her, and for a moment she thought she saw a flicker of amiss behind the flaming icy walls...

"Something really weird went off just before the explosion, Antauri and I had destroyed most of the ships, but there where still a few that we needed to keep care of."

Nova nodded and returned to digging, receptors cinching to listen to his words…

"That's when that one ship flew off in your direction.

First Antauri tried to get rid of it, but for some reason, all the other ships got in his line of fire, sacrificing themselves in the process. They refused to let us destroy that one little ship.

That's about when I intercom med you to destroy it since it looked like it was heading directly for you guys. It couldn't have been good for any good cause.

But get this; after the explosion, all the ships suddenly stopped attacking and retreated… we didn't chase them though, we went looking for you."

"They all left huh?" Nova repeated after condensing his words to herself "Strange..."

They hadn't realized through their conversation they had made their way through the trash heap and had reached the single silver door. Chiro finally made is move and pushed it open.

A wall of darkness beckoned them inside, cloaking them both in its wispy shadows. As they stepped within; Nova's vivacious rouge eyes sparked in the neon glow of liquids contained in large canisters. They neatly trimmed the high walls of the place, along with other glinting objects. They where, no doubt, the only source of light in the murky room.

The door closed behind them with a most upsetting crack, leaving them superficially alone with the permeating fumes of fossil fuel and the perk of their slowly rising bubbles.

---

Featured in the center of the room, a raised alter yielded a pair of tall columns, one filled with green liquid, and the other filled with blue. Suspended in the middle of each, gas masks covering their faces; a monkey of equal tint. They where plagued with charred metal and heavy dents everywhere. A large tangle of multi colored chords spiraled up from their masks and up to the top of the tank.

Even at a distance it was unnerving to gaze upon, but when Nova and Chiro where up close, the sickening feeling had doubled and seeped through to Nova's knees.

"I don't know what's worse, the infirmary or here?" Nova folded her arms, mindful to not to upset her arm casualty. As she spoke, a huge pair of facetted eyes materialized out of nowhere. Both Nova and Chiro flinched back as the black and silvery form of Antauri illustrated itself before them.

He was bowed elegantly to a computer screen, looking up to them, his tail snaking gently side to side above his head. Almost to snapshot the moment, he was outlined with a blue aura from the neon tank behind him like a saint, allowing cryptic fancy to glide from all corners of the mind...

"I'm glad to see you're well Nova." he greeted with a nod, his warmed gaze reverting back to the liquid filled pillars with satisfaction, as if something was lessened from his shoulders. Both she and Chiro took flanks.

"Well she's alive and punching." Chiro remarked. "She sure doesn't act like she's in pain."

"Yeah, yeah, so I'm feeling good." she had walked up to Otto's tank cautiously, peering into the seething liquid encased behind the glass "Can't say much for these two though..." Then she paused, her internal circuits felt like they where creaking to a halt, a puzzled expression began to form on her face.

"Hey wait a sec," she turned to face Antauri "how did you get in here without going through all that stuff piled sky high behind the door?"

Antauri's brow furrowed, turning his steady gaze on Nova in curiosity.

"I went intangible; I had no time to move it."

"You mean you phased through?"

Nova now held both Chiro and Antauri's full attention.

"Yeah he phased through..." Nova paused, feeling stupid. There was something she was missing; her hand was half raised as if trying to make a point of its own.

"You mean, you can go through stuff? Like a ghost or whatever?" Chiro and Antauri now both yawped at her as if she where a supermodel, trying to figure out why she was asking something so typical, or purposefully attempting to make a fool of herself (which she was)...

"Wait-wait, are you trying to make a joke? Er?" Chiro asked, whose bewildered expression was able to make Nova restrain her guts from laughing. "I'm, wait, are we supposed to say something special or...?"

"Did I confuse you somehow?" suggested Antauri, whose brow was hiked higher on his face then ever.

Then her internal gears lurched back into motion, Nova felt her mind vibrate as she felt memories flood back through her consciousness.

Of course he phased through! How could she forget that simple fact! Wow, duh! Come in Nova? Nova in someday this century?

"I um..." she spluttered "I'm, uh, I guess I sorta forgot! Maybe that explosion made me hit my head a little hard..." She put her hand up to her whirling thoughts, trying to feel if there was a bump or dent in the side of her head.

"_Hit your head a little hard?_" scoffed Chiro dumbfounded.

"It's true that you can lose memory by head damage, but forgetting something primary as that is a bit strange..." said Antauri with concern.

Nova faltered on the spot, she couldn't find another subject and was now uneasy. She put her hand up to Otto's confines... creating a soft click as her metal palm met the smooth glass. She looked up at him.

Otto's fur looked roasted, and there where a few deep scratch marks where she assumed scrap metal had managed to puncture him. Resiment of leaking oil could be seen around these... Nova cocked her head at the other monkey sideways.

Gibson was not someone she socialized with much. It was mainly Sparx, Chiro, and Otto that she mingled with the most. But he, like Antauri, was different, and she didn't find as much as a personal bond with him as the others. She noticed that his helm case was cracked, and the gouge it supported was rather uneven; giving the illusion that his brains would spill the confines of his helmet, like a Frankenstein creation.

Nova clenched, a vision suddenly butted in from her memories, and she was back out in space, with the kamakazi shard only inches away from Gibson's face...

"Bleehhffurgghhhlllub..." her vision suddenly snapped into focus from a sound from inside the tank. From behind Gibson's mask, large bubbles had begun to erupt at a fast rate. Confused, she took a few steps backward, looking down to the status panel to see if the mask was giving more oxygen then it should.

Antauri had joined her, and Chiro looked over their shoulders fervently.

"Something isn't right..." Antauri muttered. Then the buzzer alarm went off, all of the lights around them dimmed to a vermillion, and then brightened, the dimmed again in time with the loud alarm.

"He's regaining consciousness far too early then he should..." Antauri explained, who's quick hands where expertly flew over the switches.

Chiro and Nova exchanged nervous glances, all they could do is stand and watch, for neither of them really knew the lab techniques. Their attention was anchored on Gibson, who had begun to jerk around as if he where being electrocuted... the alarm was still striking its shrill note of danger alert...

"I'm releasing compact pressure so his head won't implode if he wakes up..." he paused, glancing up again, the glint of sweat could be seen forming upon his brow "Damn!" he snarled going back to the controls "Why is this happening?"

Gibson's eyes snapped open.

Nova started and she jumped backward into Chiro, finding herself perching on his shoulder. While her feet where clawing his shoulder in fancy to break it, her hand was grasping his hair by the roots so hard, she could have yanked it clear out. Chiro was suffocating; he pried Nova's hand that was clamping his airway shut while ignoring her heavy metal tail that kept smacking his cheek.

The mask straps that bound the vizard to Gibson's muzzle where suddenly ripped off as he began to trash wildly, the huge tank tottering under his force as the primate began to pound the glass walls ferociously, eyes wild and mouth open, attempting to make noise through his vocals...

"He's suffocating! Let him out!" croaked Chiro who had started forward, and then stopped; Nova swaying like a parrot on his shoulder. The hulking container wobbled off it's axis, it began it's long and heavy fall to the ground, conducting sounds of breaking cables and snapping electric wires...

"Get out!" Antauri ordered fiercely who had abandoned the controls and wrenched the other two with him. The fallen container already began the domino effect; as it plunged, the shelves that lay in its path where instantly mowed flat. Neon containers where being smashed like water balloons, and more and more upset objects came spinning out of nowhere to join in.

Before they knew it, Nova, Chiro and Antauri where crouching with hands over heads; under siege of an avalanche of ruble.

---

A few minutes later Nova found herself slowly making it to her feet, coughing violently.

"Oh! Holy ouch... crap..." she rasped while wiping grime of her face.

Next she saw Chiro's arm dislodging a large pole that had fell on him, his face was glowing purple from a substance that had splattered on him.

"You can say that again..."

"Everyone all right?" it was Antauri, he brushed his shoulders off, but for the most part he looked fine. They nodded. The silver monkey quietly cleared his throat, while turning his gaze to where they had stood only a few minutes before. Now, the lab resembled the bridge Nova and Chiro walked through not too long ago... The glowing green plasma from both tanks had pooled out everywhere like a radioactive lake, and was dripping off of just about anything in the room. The siren had died, probably got smashed. The only noise now was a few glass jars rolling off their shelves.

And Otto or Gibson where nowhere to be seen.

They all started forward at once, managing through some sundered cords, which where now hissing and writhing like pythons as they emitted sparks from their nozzles.

"Don't touch the liquid." Antauri warned as they neared it "It's meant only for sedation, when it's not in a case it can knock you out cold."

"Then where is Otto and Gibson?" said Chiro darkly. "They're obviously not sleeping anymore."

"Otto?" Nova looked around blankly, scanning the spot where Otto's tank once stood, but now was wrecked and literally laying side by side with Gibson's.

"Hold on," said Chiro with his voice lowered, putting a finger to his lips "do you hear that?" Two monkeys and a boy both cocked themselves, listening intently... Not too far off, something shifted, then something glass hit the floor and shattered.

"Otto? Gibson?" They waited.

"Maybe they where knocked out again." suggested Chiro after nothing happened.

Nova groaned.

They inched silently along the perimeter of the pool, taking care not to tread in it, they made their way to the more ominous parts of the lab. Nova grumbled as she kept bumping into cold sharp objects that seemed to be always be pointed in her direction.

"Best not to venture further till we get proper lighting..." came Antauri's voice... There was a crash in the back of the lab, but it was so far off it was almost undetectable. They all froze again like a flock of deer, Nova's gaze captured the glint of a green... as she focused on it, she saw a monkey, he still wore a mask and his eyes where still closed.

"Hey! I see Otto!" she exclaimed while bounding forward to her fallen comrade, the other two where not far behind. They gathered around him silently; Nova quickly removed the mask from his face as Chiro lifted him up so he lay propped against a shelf case. Antauri knelt down to Otto's side, putting one hand behind the monkeys head to straighten the airway, and the other pushing down gently on his chest.

A low growl gurgled up from the back of Otto's raspy vocals, chyme spurted between sharp teeth... his eyes opened slowly and he blinked, hacking up more fluid as he went.

It might have been the shock at the time that didn't trigger anyone to move, but within the next moments; Otto had chomped down on Antauri's arm (who was closest) and sent him flying into yonder with a snap of his neck.

Chiro and Nova stepped backward in alarm as the green monkey howled savagely, struggling to his feet, knocking over metal containers and dripping as he emerged from his dormant state.

She heard his back crack as he brought his spinal chord up to alignment. His gaze was forbidding and dark beneath the bridge of his crown, and if possible, there was a trace of fear.

Antauri appeared again in the distance, and again he looked unharmed... Otto regarded them all silently, eyes gleaming with emotion.

"Hey! What did you do that for!" Chiro hollered, both of his fists now clenched, Otto snapped his head at him.

"Stay away from me!" he barked threateningly, he took a step back from them all, and his tail had stiffened to a sleek curve behind him like a spring. A high pitched squeal heightened the tension as a single saw blade had begun to spin rapidly, replacing one of his bionic hands. Otto swung it around his head like a maniac with an ancient slingshot, threatening anyone within five feet of his reach.

"Don't get ANY closer! You hear?"

"Calm down Otto!" Nova screeched above the saw, "We're not going to hurt you!" Otto's gaze flashed from Chiro to Nova. The wild gleam in his eye made her freeze her words; his face was screwed in a catastrophe of impression. She could almost spot the veins pumping adrenaline through his body. What was wrong with him!

"Where am I?" he spoke out of breath. "And who are you guys?" Everyone stared at the monkey for a moment in disbelief, but the green monkey seemed to have dismissed them for a moment in turn to look at his saw hand in amazement, his fear diminishing as it was replaced with that of amusement and joy.

"Hey, hey, this is sorta cool!" he raised the spinning saw above his head and began to swing it to his own amusement and making all of them back up even more.

"I gotta test this on something..." Otto looked around until he found a beaker disposal box, ironically placed only a few feet in front of Chiro. "Perfect!"

"Wait-" began Chiro.

Otto had already started for it, swinging his saw like some sort of andabatae, teetering on his heels like a toddler does when learning how to walk, it looked as though the saw was doing what it wanted instead of him.

"Otto!" Antauri called out to him, but it was enough to make the green monkey look over his shoulder in confusion.

"Who?" he shouted.

Chiro jumped quickly out of his way as the Otto skidded into the box he had wanted to destroy. He disappeared (saw and all) but the momentum forced the box barrel into a fallen rack of experiment vials. All three paused as a crash singled the end of Otto's trip, unsure whether to help him of the tangle or not, lest they be cut to pieces.

The question didn't remain unawnsered for long; the screaming saw came slicing through the box skin and out he emerged like a mosquito from water. He paused, huffing and puffing, and then a grin spread across his face. He was gazing at his saw with pure admiration.

He didn't even see Antauri arise from the ground behind him. In one swift movement a metal arm grasped Otto's arm (saw and all) and twisted it behind his back harmlessly, but disarming him altogether.

"Wha-? OW! HELP! Stop! Don't let the saw hurt me!" protested Otto struggling under the ghosts firm grip.

"Calm down. You will only damage yourself." Antauri assured calmly. "You'll find you can control the saw."

Otto's struggling subsided; his heavy breathing rocked the room. The saw's rapid spin began to cool, the high pitched scream slowly gliding into a low rumble. Eventually it stopped completely and folded up back into Otto's arm with a pop.

"Before I release you..." Antauri continued "I must ask... does the title; 'Hyper Force', have any meaning to you?" Otto's face went blank, his tail dropped to the ground with a sharp crack.

"The Hyper Force?" he repeated, he stared wistfully into space, Chiro and Nova stood their ground, holding their breath. Otto teetered, turning his head to try and look at the monkey binding him with a look of pure astonishment.

"Your... your name is Antauri?" said Otto apprehensively. The silver monkey blinked, and then a knowing smile drew itself on his muzzle.

Otto rounded his gaze to a zombified Chiro and Nova who stood like perfectly carved statues. Then, the corners of his mouth lifted and he positively beamed. Nova could have sworn the room lit up.

"Nova! Chiro! You guys are all right!" Omitting his fear completely, he threw his head back and let out a howl of laughter. Antauri let go of him and he fell forward to the floor with a clang.

Nova and Chiro scrambled to their friend, feet and paw scraping the massacred lab floor. "Welcome back." remarked Chiro as he helped him to his feet. "You really gave us all a scare."

"What the heck happened?" added Nova wiping him off.

Otto stared at them all for a moment, (mainly trying to keep balance under Nova's rough hands), then he simply shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know... I just, forgot. Everything. I forgot where I was and I didn't know who you where," (he motioned to them all) "I didn't even know who I was!"

"But after Antauri mentioned the Hyper Force, I started to remember everything, the fights, those weird flying things, the explosion..." his voice trailed off and he chuckled to his own amusement "I can't believe I forgot who I was!"

"Perhaps the explosion triggered a loss of engrams..." said Antauri to himself "You where the second closest to the explosion."

"Now that you mention it, Nova had some memory loss too." said Chiro. "She couldn't remember that Antauri could go intangible."

"That's really strange." she added quietly, "And to think, Otto wasn't really close to that flying UFO... and neither was I. To think what the damage was done to Gibson who got a direct hit."

"Yeah, where is he anyhow?" asked Otto who began to look around "He have me a heart attack out there..." As if to answer the question, a soft chirp echoed off of the ceiling.

Impromptu, Otto was completely forgotten and all of them looked up.

Clinging to a ceiling ramp as if there where no tomorrow, a dark blue primate was gazing pensively down at them. He tilted his head to one side, shifting himself slightly closer, as if to get a better look at them all.

"Gibson!" Otto cheered vibrantly, nearly busting out Nova's auto receptors.

Now the monkey really stared at him, the same way someone would if a complete stranger addressed him.

"I beg your pardon?" the blue monkey wrapped his tail all the more tighter around the ramp. "My names not Gibson."

"It's not?" repeated Otto, suddenly becoming the president of speech for everyone else (whom all suddenly seemed to turn into mutes).

"Then... what is it?"

Gibson slipped from his perch and landed quite squarely on his feet in front of him. He folded his arms across his chest, his eyes didn't present the faintest of emotion or enthusement for being with them.

"It's Vibro. Now see, I'd love to stay and chat, but I must get myself cleaned up and back to my home planet, where I am needed."

The silence that followed was incredible; everyone just stared at Gibson (or in this case Vibro) as if he had sprouted a foot from his forehead.

"Oh _no_." groaned Chiro.


	3. Sprx The Training Tutor

A late spring chill constricted Shuggazoom, it's bone white hands whipping the faces of citizens too stupid to put coats on. A frigid draft howled through the gaping hole in the bridge, where Sparx, Nova, and Otto had tried their hand to clean up. Trying to occupy their thoughts away from Gibson was more of a job then cleaning up the remains of the Super Robot. But it was no surprise though, the foggy atmosphere was loud and exuberant as a carnival, or at least for one of the monkeys.

"Hey hey, look at this!" laughed Otto, staggering about the room while juggling gobs of trash. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he was being ignored... a little.

Nova had settled herself in a tangle of robotic arms that had fallen off the old security system during the battle. They had snarled themselves into an outdated computer and for some reason they where still able move...

"So... let me get this straight..." Sparx came striding around the corner of the slum into her view, his hands had formed the shape of horse shoe magnets, vacuuming up any metal object that was within any three feet of his stance. "... he's has lost his entire memory of the Super Robot Team, calls himself Vibro, and he's made up this crackpot gag about being a guardian of... some... fantasy planet called Earth?"

"That's about it." Nova replied simply "He doesn't even talk like Gibson anymore, I left the room because everything he said didn't make sense to me."

"Wow," Sprx murmured to himself, and then shook his head, casting a dodgy grin in her direction "and I thought you where lost."

Otto came by staggering under a spilling heap of junk he had decorated his back with, but halted as a piece fell from the top and smacked him on the head. To her utmost dismay, Otto dumped all of his junk, letting it splatter all over Nova's fraction of the room. Wincing, she left the mechanical arms behind, enlarging her fists. Otto cast her an apologetic grin before he disappeared to where Nova once stood, taking over the mechanical arms.

With a sigh, Nova began to pound Otto's massive pile down to a compact pulp, every once in a while adding more wads of junk from the sidelines before resuming hammering.

Sparx was smoothly trifling a thin piece of metal he had found with one hand, while watching her and Otto with low interest. He was leaning back on a remaining wall, while his tail curled around his feet; perfecting the stance of a street charlatan.

"Done already?" Nova paused to scoff at him, Sparx gestured to his claimed portion of the room. Sure enough, all the metal was all cleared, and to top it off, it looked supremely better then hers. She grumbled and resumed her task only pounding harder, she could hear Otto yelp as an arm started constricting him.

"Did Chiro tell you about what happened before the explosion?" Sparx asked, ignoring Otto, who squeaked and began to chop like a maniac in every direction.

"Yeah... pretty crazy huh?" Nova let out a half hearted laugh. "It sounds like some sort of a story line to me..."

"Or a sabotage." added Sparx.

"What?" began Nova, but wasn't able to finish, for in the next moment the lab doors banged open. All three dropped what they where doing and looked up.

Chiro, and Antauri came walking walking side by side unto the bridge, they both looked very disgruntled, as if they both just swallowed something particularly sour... being dragged right behind them, snarling threats like you wouldn't believe, was Gibson.

"You've got the wrong monkey! I'm telling you!-" he was being dragged by his arms, feet curled up to brake in front of him, skidding across the bridge floor in a well put effort to stop, almost a complete reenactment of a toddler visiting the doctor for shots...

"Cease! Desist! Halt! Discontinue! I am SERIOUS! Are you you two **daft**! Let me go--!" Otto, Nova and Sparx all exchanged glances as the other three lined up. They where all silent, except for twitching blue monkey, whom continued to fight for his freedom.

"We've tried everything we know to get his memory back, and nothing has worked so far." said Chiro over the thrashing shouts and screeches.

"We've showed clips of fighting, old adversary's... even shared documents of achievement's that we've accomplished in the past." added Antauri in a low growl. "Nothing seems to work."

"Well then what do we do?" said Nova "Can't just leave him messed up like this..."

"Messed up? He's completely insane!" Sparx blurted out.

"Well we are all definitely going to have to find something soon-" began Chiro... which squired everyone to chatter at once...

("We should fight something! A good old boxing session always jump-starts my mind for the day..." )

"Nova! He doesn't even know who he is... let alone how to use weapons!"

"We can take him to get a burger down town, he might remember the food he's eaten with us or something! It always brings back memories for me!"

"Otto, you weirdo..." "We should go into space, it might bring back memories of the crash-"

"Are you serious! Did you ever stop to notice half the robot is MISSING! We'll never make it out alive from the atmosphere!-")

Poor Gibson simply regarded them all with glassy eyes, now realizing that it was hopeless to communicate with them. His tail drooped sadly to the ground, and Antauri seemed to be the only one who noticed this and a sympathetic look crossed his features...

"Gibsoooon!" Otto had cut them all off... he was waving a muscular arm in front Gibson's face. "What do you feel like doing?"

"Vibro... Vibro... VIBRO..." the blue monkey corrected, taking a step back from the green monkey.

"I refuse to be dubbed by your so called 'Gibson'. Gibson is a vile drink usually drunk at gambling riots that's garnished with a pickled onion!"

Otto seemed greatly hurt, cowering back like some puppy who just was scolded...

"But, your name is Dr. Hal Gibson! You always said that..." he mumbled, his gaze turning to the ground... he teetered backward on his rump with arms crossed in a sulk, tail coiling around him. "I was only trying to help." he muttered. Gibson's expression was a concoction of guilt and mercy, he had just opened his mouth to say something to him before he was cut off once again.

"So what should we call him?" asked Sparx while folding his arms behind his head. Like all of them who where glancing around nervously, he wanted to change the uncomfortable subject "He's quite fussy about it if you ask me..."

"But if he gets his way he might never think Gibson is his real name." Chiro said quietly... "He might never grow out of the name Vibro."

"Yeah, and besides, the name Vibro just doesn't roll off the tongue like 'Gibson' does..." added Nova, who was becoming quite peevish through all of this. Males... just had to make a fuss didn't they?

Antauri finally cleared his throat, silencing them all immediately. His night-tide gaze peered into Gibson's. For a moment Nova wondered if he was making a telepathic connection, before he finally spoke...

"I believe he is to choose his own path, whether it be the one we would want him to choose, and the one he believes is his own destiny. We cannot deter his hearts desire." then, unbelievably; he let go of Gibson's arm, allowing it to fall the the ground with a feeble clank.

As if on cue, Chiro copied the action as Antauri gave him an approving nod... they both stepped back to give him room. Nova found herself backing up as well, along with Otto and Sparx. Who knew what what was going to happen now? Gibson blinked a few times in disbelief with his new found freedom, then with a little shuffling, he slowly rose to his feet... clueless indeed!

"Well then..." he started rather humbly, rubbing his wrists where Chiro and Antauri had held him. Flustered, confused... and abashed; he cleared his throat again, bringing himself to a more upright stature. "Well then!" he regarded them all with an amazingly bright smile.

"When I was up in your outer atmosphere about to crash into your city, you all rescued me from the depths of my cockpit." began Gibson in a very impeccable manner,

"I suppose you must have gone to great lengths to rescue me, putting your lives before mine is a most honorary task indeed-" he didn't seem to notice the slightly bored expressions everyone had grown, he continued on like the enigizer bunny...

"I'm more then grateful to you all- and emancipating me at such a difficult time, for I can make an assumption that you've also been going through a rough battle... (he glanced at one of the walls that where torn off with utmost curiosity) judging by your unsightly hospitality..."

"I will stay until your robot is fixed, and mine as well, and then I will be on my way." he finished... flashing them all a hopeful smile towards his audience, his hands folded neatly across his chest. Finally after this information registered, Chiro was the first to speak...

"Well, we are glad your staying with us, um... Vibro..." he spoke very slowly, looking as though he was trying to pick is wording carefully... "but, I think we should clean up the robot so you can, recover from your wounds from the crash first... when your fully _healed_, we can begin work on your robot." the group looked at Vibro to see what he would say, but he was looking at Chiro with utmost astonishment, tail and arms stiffening slightly.

"Dear boy! I assure you, I'm in perfect condition to do whatever is needed." the blue monkey stood stock straight, as if to present how great he felt.

"You don't understand," began Antauri... "your in critical condi-"

"Actually, I think _Vibro_ has a point..." Sparx interrupted to all of their surprise. They all blinked at him in a silent hush, Antauri simply turned and bowed his head for him to continue on, tail snaking a bit side to side.

"Sorry guys, but something tells me he's going to be all right." the scarlet monkey said reproachfully as he stepped forward towards Vibro, who looked at him as though he had never laid eyes upon him before.

"I know he the odds are slim, but look at Otto," (he gestured towards the green monkey, who still sat on the floor with his tail coiled around himself)

"He went though the crash only a few yards away, and he's up talking, and almost without a scratch... you even fought with you guys back inside the lab."

"As much as I hate admitting it, you gotta point there Sparky..." agreed Nova, her pink eyes hovering over both of her brothers quickly, they seemed fine for the most part... except there was a crack on the side of Gibson's helmet that made her wince each time her eyes passed it. She kept expecting his brains to fall out of it at any given moment...

"Tell you what..." Sparx put a metal hand on Vibro's shoulder in a gesture of friendship, a bright, but shifty grin dawned his muzzle... "how about I take you for a training session out at the outskirts of the city?" Vibro's eyes lightened, a grin that was double the size of Sprx's, and perhaps just as devious edged up the side of his face.

"I would never pass up the chance to explore your strange planet, or your City of Sugar as you say it, I would be greatly honored!"

"I'll join you two." said Nova at once, the last thing she wanted was to stay cooped up inside the decaying Super Robot. She had about enough cleaning for one day...

"Sorry, no shotgun..." Sparx pointed a finger at her damaged arm with a furrowed brow... "Can't have that now can we?" Nova's fur literally bristled, and she was about to make a defensive comeback, but just then...

"I'll go." it was Chiro. He had stepped forward towards the pair unnoticed.

"Good show boy!" Vibro patted him on the back. Chiro's eyes glazed over for a moment...

"Boy?" he repeated.

"Brilliant!" Vibro continued, patting Chiro on the back before bringing both monkey and boy's head together towards him...

"Us three, a gentlemen's duel..." he said in a loud whisper... his tail swishing side to side excitedly... "What say you to that?"

Sparx let out a chuckle, closing his eyes in thought...

"I say, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship Vibro."

Nova heard Otto behind her sigh and walk off, she turned just in time to see his tail disappear behind the laboratory door. What neither Otto nor Sparx knew, that in just a few days, they'd be trying to rip the throats out of the most unlikely pair of love baboons you would ever meet.

---

If Nova thought that cleaning up the lab was easy, she was most certainly wrong. Even before the crash, and the recent accident when "Vibro" woke up, she thought the laboratory was like a huge asylum you couldn't escape from. Even the scientist himself was known to get lost in his studies. But now, everything was either smashed, or flung across the room. Just looking at it and trying to decide what to clean up first was a chore. To make matters worse, the lighting in the room was even worse then the day before. Not only where the lights burnt out, but most of the neon jars where smashed as well.

Otto claimed he knew where the power house for the lighting was, but once he started making his way through the lab, it was apparent he didn't even know where he was going. (she counted up to about seven different crashes, with all the different phrases of 'oops' , 'whoops' or 'didn't see that one coming'.)

"I'll clean up the liquid mess, it's most likely still contaminated." Antauri was sorting objects from those that where still usable, and those that where completely destroyed.

"I'm going to transfer the liquids to a place away from citizens. If any trouble is to arise then-"

CRASH

A louder then normal eruption from the back of the lab finished Antauri's sentence.

"Hey I found the light switch! But it doesn't work," Otto's voice called out to them "Oh, and I also found some books!"

Antauri breathed a sigh that seemed to suck all of the air out of the room. Nova hardly noticed that he was levitating a gigantic orb of what looked like the glowing green goo, roughly the size of a small swimming pool. She guessed it was from Otto's and Vibro's containers.

"I shall be back here shortly." he finished what could have been a long explanation. With one last glance it Otto's direction, he submerged beneath the floor, glowing liquid and all.

As the light from the goo faded, the room became darker still... almost pitch black. Nova heard her stomach growl... she groaned. She could almost picture Sparx, Chiro, and Vibro now, fighting somewhere on the outskirts of the city.

"It must be fun to pound the earwax out of someone who lost their memory..." she glared at her arm injury, which she couldn't eve see in the faded light.

"Hey Nova! Come here!" Otto's voice broke her trance. Blinking, she sat herself up straight from her hateful reverie, stretching her arms out and cracking her back.

"Yeah, hold on..." Nova set down her unfinished work on the floor and trotted in the direction of Otto's voice, feeling around pointed objects and lab tables... but along the way, something hooked under her foot; bringing her crashing unto the ground while skidding into a pile of hard thick objects.

"Ow..." she struggled to find her footing again, but her hands, knees and feet where slipping upon piles of... books and papers?

"Otto what did you do?"

Once she regained her balance, she squinted to see through the dimness. She stood in the middle of a vast library of books, all scrambled about across the floor. Behind the massive piles laid the shadow of a bookcase that laid on it's side. Apparently Otto had knocked it over while trying to find the light switch...

"Whoa." Nova bent down and picked up some of the books that where closest to her. "Never knew Gibson as being such a pack-rat."

"You mean Vibro?" corrected Otto, making Nova loose her footing again and drop the books to the ground. Otto stood not too far away, perhaps only two yards or so, but even there, Nova could make out his grim expressions. Nova sighed stacking the books on top of each other, then picked her way through the maze of books towards her friend. She could just make him out staring blankly at the fallen book case...

"Look," Nova extended a hand out and placed it on his shoulder, turning him around to face her "These are rough times ok? But that doesn't mean that we can't try and make it better... we've been through tougher, you know we have."

Otto tilted his head up, still avoiding Nova's gaze, but at least he was listening...

"You've been through the crash too, and I can only imagine what it must have been like for you... but at least you know what it's like not remembering who your friends are. Gibson is going through the same thing you did. We just have to get through to him like we did to you."

"But I don't feel normal Nova." Otto said quietly, taking her hand from his shoulder and letting it go by her side. "I feel like something has been injected into me ever since the crash... like a power source or something. As though, I feel like, I should be doing something, commanding something." he looked up at Nova, and to her surprise his eyes where widened in pure terror... like the fear you see in a horror film.

"I don't feel like Otto anymore. I keep remembering those flying UFO's..." at this he stopped and gazed wistfully through Nova's head as though it where a cloud.

"I don't even sound like me..." Nova smiled reassuringly... reaching up and squeezing his shoulder as he dropped his head miserably. "It's a phase... you'll pull through." although, despite her words, she doubted this. She had barely a clue what Otto was talking about, and in no way was she able to help.

---

Through and through, they had brought the bookcase back up to it's rightful position, and had stacked more than half of the fallen books on the floor back on their just perches.

It happened however, Nova chanced upon a rather peculiar dark colored document on the floor that was squashed under neath some heftier books. It was unusually lightweight, and it was floppy, similar to that of a notebook. She opened it, lacing her fingers about the paper, which to her fascination, was extremely thin, like that of tracing paper.

She sat herself down on a stack of books and brought the book up close to her face... her metallic tail curled around her snugly. She wasn't any book reader... oh no. But the opportunity she wasn't going to pass up. She thumbed through delicately; each leaf was adorned with a map of intricately illustrated diagrams... with long explaining captions and formulas and labels describing each. At the bottom corners of each passage, there was a date in which it was written.

Then she landed on a empty page... it was blank. Blinking, she turned it over in confusion. The rest of the pages continued in a procession of illustrations just like the ones before it... then she noticed in the corner of the page, printed in neat thin handwriting was an italicized word;

R_eplicators_, (It was underlined.)

"What in Shuggazoom's name..." glancing down at the bottom corner of the page, she seeked the date when it was written. But instead of just a date, it was a phrase;

Estimated doom's day: 5/25/66

"Hey... Nova..." the heavy low voice suddenly voice made her jump. Otto had been watching over her shoulder and she hadn't even noticed. He looked over her shoulder, brow furrowed nervously...

"That date, he's gotten written down... it's only a week away... what's it supposed to mean?"

"I'm not sure..." said Nova closing the book with a snap and looking back at Otto. Both of them had the same apprehensive expression, Nova scratched the undermost part of her maw thoughtfully... her pink eyes glowing bright...

"It sure doesn't sound like anything good."


	4. Dreams and Secrets

Nova blinked, once, twice. She was standing on a strange plain, green and hard like stone, and smooth to her feet. Uncountable stars twinkled mysteriously above her, and the pink and white sphere of Suggazome loomed over her in the distance. 

She looked around, it was silent. No other signs of life other than herself. Yet, the place felt strangely familiar, she'd been there before, she must have. 

Then a low, incessant hum could be heard, the kind of hum you hear when you bang on something hallow with a mallet. A vibration through the ground sent a chill up her spine, and she realized the noise was coming from beneath her feet. 

She looked down in alarm, where her reflection greeted her with the same startled expression. The hum was steadily growing louder, and a slender crack had appeared on the mirror-like surface of the ground. As she watched, the crack grew larger, and started to branch off in different directions. Then, without warning the ground shuddered and then reared up violently beneath her, making her stumble backwards and fall with a painful scrape of metal. 

The cracks grew rapidly into larger crevasses, small webs of niches grew into larger ones, and began to separate from one another. The dull hum was now a deafening roar, and Nova found herself clenching her receptors shut for all it was worth. 

Then, with a tremendous crack, a large chunk broke free from the ground, shooting into space like a catapulted boulder. More rocks repeated this, crashing and bursting from the ground and spinning into the air, a procession of flying, spinning boulders, jagged and deadly sharp. 

Nova watched as one circled by close her, so close she could reach out and touch it. She could see her distorted reflection gleaming in it's notches, and as she peered closer, she realized it wasn't herself staring back this time. She recognized the face, the hideous skull like face of someone she deeply loved and loathed at the same time... the corners of his jagged mouth slowly pulled back into a sadistic sneer, revealing many sharp teeth. 

"NO!" 

Nova sat bolt upright, finding that she was snarled in a throng of blankets she'd been sleeping in moments before. 

Breathing heavily, she plopped back down into her pillow, replaying her dream in her head again. How vivid it was, realistic, as if she was really there. If she didn't know any better she would have said she _was_ there. She shuddered slightly, biting her lip, it had been a lot like the previous dream she had experienced, only this time she could 'feel' it. 

She rolled over, exhausted. Her hand felt something cold and hard underneath her pillow. Grumbling slightly, she pulled it out and squinted at it in the faint light. It was the book from Gibson's library she had found the evening before. She stuffed it back under the cushion with unnecessary force. 

What did it all mean? 

"Nova?" 

The grumbling voice made her start. She tossed in her blanket, finding herself face to face with Sparx. For a moment she blanked out, and was about to ask him why he was in her room, but then realized the whole team had decided to sleep in the main area (the other rooms being destroyed). 

"You ok?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine." Nova lied. She sunk back down into her bedroll, rubbing her eyes and turning away from him, punching her pillow into a more comfortable shape. 

"I heard you yell, did you have a bad dream?" 

"Yeah, a nightmare. It had you in it." Nova huffed irritably, trying with her best effort to block his voice from her conscious. 

"Dreamin of me eh?" Sparx chuckled intelligently. "Well now..." 

She grumbled and tried to avert his thoughts, however, she now lay wide awake, staring at the ceiling of the Super Robot. As the wind blew through, she felt the robot sway on it's side, letting out what sounded like a very painful sigh. And now she couldn't stand it, being alone with that terrible dream threatening her from the brink of her mind. Suddenly, she wanted to talk to someone to share it with... 

"Sprx?" She heard him shift around a bit (while mumbling a few inaudible words), before silence once again settled in between them. It wasn't long before a long, drawled out snore indicated that the monkey had once again fallen into a deep sleep. 

She sighed. It was going to be a long night. 

--- 

"Geez Nova," said Otto as she entered the main room "did the bed bugs get yeh?" he was tinkering with some tangled wire mesh in a rip in the wall. Nova looked a mess, her bubble gum eyes where dull, her golden fur was ruffled and lifeless. Delicately fingering sleep rings that had formed under her eyes, she grunted heavily. 

"Coffee?" Sprx suggested cheerfully as she shuffled by. 

"Hnn." she grunted again. 

Chiro was straining under the immense weight of a giant wad of metal, which he was carrying out of the way. Antauri busied himself by flattening any crumpled metal with the heat of his hands, smoothing out cracks and dents in the wall so it might seem that a pole had crashed through it. Nova noticed that at least a quarter of the Super Robot had begun to look as she remembered. However, that did nothing to lift her spirits, which had been worn out the night before. 

"What's on the agenda this morning?" she croaked groggily, eyeing the room, suspicious that she already knew the answer. She was tired of being cooped up inside though, deprived of fresh air, and fumbling with the constant trouble of never ending labor. She felt like a waste management woman... 

"Lets see, do you want to lift, haul, scrub, pound, fetch, pull, push..." Otto began listing, his voice echoing as his head disappeared in a small dark hole in the wall. 

"Where's Gibson?" Nova finally noticed he was missing from the group, finding herself quite annoyed at the thought that he might not be helping out with the work. Just because he didn't know who he was didn't mean he got to skip out on everything, did it? 

"Oh he's outside actually," said Chiro said as he lugged the giant wad of metal past her. "He's already fixed up most Otto's pilot, did it this morning while you where still asleep." 

Hearing his voice, Otto banged his head inside the wall. "I didn't know that!" he said as his arms pumped up and down to get himself unstuck. Sparx chuckled at him before walking over to grasp him under the armpits and beginning to pull him free. All the while the green monkey continued... "He doesn't know where anything is, or where anything goes! He might have messed up my stuff, like my mud pies!" 

Nova highly doubted that Otto's mud pies even existed anymore. They where probably flattened mud crisps by now... However, she realized that Gibson's next target was her pilot, who was right next to Otto's. She didn't want her stuff messed up by someone that didn't know who he was, now that she thought about it... 

"Oh wait! Has he worked on mine yet?" She asked Chiro as he disappeared out the door. She bearly heard his reply over the reply of Sparx's upset yelp of trying to free Otto, only in succeeding in loosing his grip on him and flying backwards into a pile of rubble. 

--- 

"Geez..." 

Nova could see her breath hanging in front of her nose as she walked outside. Grimacing as her feet hit the frozen solid ground, her fur prickled up so she looked twice her size. She wished now she would have at least put on a scarf, but didn't feel like going back inside now. It would probably take her an hour just to find some suitable clothing anyway. 

Looking around, she noticed that the Shuggazume had been enveloped with a coat of white frost. The paper white sky was filled with large, fluffy snowflakes that looked like cotton. It seemed as though the city had grown quiet, muffled by the snow, she couldn't hear the usual wailing of children and honking from vehicles. It was rather nice for a change... without thinking, she stuck her tongue out to catch one of those huge snowflakes, but a voice startled her 

"Hello Nova!" and she wheeled around on her heels, very much embarrassed. 

"Gib- er, Vibro!" 

The blue monkey had a rosy face, and cheerful, crisp voice. His bright eyes blinked at her through the fur of a fluffy coat. Nova couldn't help but smile at him, but also feel a bit regretful that she didn't bring a coat of her own, and rather foolish. 

"Did you finish Otto's unit?" she asked breathlessly, hugging herself in the bitter cold. Boy, did she feel naked... 

"If your referring to the entertaining green monkey, I did." he nodded, gesturing to the right leg. "At least I think so, I followed the instructions as carefully as I could." his voice was so cathedral and surefooted, brimming with self confidence and assuring cheerfulness that it caught Nova completely offgaurd. It actually made her sodden spirit lift its weary head a little, how could he feel so good about himself in a time like this? 

"I'd better come and see it then, and I can fix anything that you might have missed." she said with a shiver, beginning to walk towards the unit. Gibson walked beside her, blowing on his hands lightly and rubbing them together briskly. Though, he seemed surprisingly energetic despite it being so frosty... 

"How is it progressing inside?" 

"Oh, not much better. It's all bent up robot in there, you can bearly move around." 

"Oh dear..." Gibson's voice sounded a hint disappointed, but said nothing else. Nova guessed it was something to do with him wanting to leave Shuggazume and go to his "home planet", wherever that was. She didn't have time to dwell on it long though... 

"Wow," she found herself staring at Otto's fighting unit. Gibson had not only fixed up the foot, but the entire leg had been replaced with slicked, polished metal that she could see her reflection in. All the scratches and dents had been meticulously removed. Not a crack nor smudge could be sought on it's impeccable surface. 

"Is it all right?" Gibson asked apprehensively, looking towards Nova for a reaction. It was a couple of moments of silence before she exploded; 

"DOI!! It's even better than it was before!" she burst into that nervous laughter, that kind that she had always seen girls do when they're abashed by a question and want to look innocent. She was seriously mortified that she had doubted Gibson. Who was she kidding, he still had that good ol heart of his! 

"At this rate, you can do whatever you want with mine." she grinned, thumping Gibson heartily on the back. He, in turn, laughed, rubbing his neck, clearly flattered. 

"If you want, though I have no instructions on yours like I had with Otto's." 

"Then I'll stick with ya then." but as soon as the words passed her lips her stomach sank. She must have visibly showed it too, because in the next moment, Gibson's smile had faded 

"What's wrong?" 

"Ah nothin. Just chilly out here is all, but it's no problem, I'll tough it out." though, she wished she could have borrowed some of Gibson's confidence to make her words more convincing. She must have sounded like a complete wimp... 

"Here, use my coat." 

In nearly two seconds Gibson had had unzipped the furry brown jacket and pulled himself out. Nova's eyes expanded ten fold as he walked over and draped it over her shoulders. 

"Are you nuts? It's at least five below!" she croaked, but helplessly succoming to the softness of the jacket. It was still warmed with Gibson's own body heat, and she suddenly felt like she had walked into a toaster oven. 

"It's no problem." Gibson shrugged as he began to walk back the way they came. 

"Yeah it is a problem!" Nova shouted angrily after him, but at the same time pulling her metal arms through the sleeves. "If you stay out here without a coat, I'm going to be dragging you inside as a monkey sickle!" However, Gibson laughed merrily, turning back to look at her, a comical expression on his face. 

"I'm quite used to it, don't worry, I used to live in much colder places." Nova gawked at him, still walking steadily as Gibson walked backwards, facing her 

"What's colder then below zero?!" 

"I'd say the Polar Ice Cap of the Arctic." 

"Cap of... what?" 

"The Polar Ice Cap of the Artic, top polar ice cap of my home planet. The water there is hardly ever touched by the sun, and so most of it froze stiff. It's so bitter cold, it doesn't sustain any life force at all except myself." 

Nova was staring at him with a face worthy of a little girl stuck in a mortican house. 'I guess you aren't really aren't Gibson anymore...' she thought. Even Gibson wouldn't make up such folly stories of frozen places, it just wasn't him. 

"Why on Shuggazume would you want to live in a place like that?" she asked, thinking it rather awful to freeze your tail off in a place where there was no one to keep you company. 

"Oh well, it's a sort of a long story." he said quietly "I'd be still explaining it by lunch break, and you'd probably be very cold, even with that coat on." Nova almost wanted to say, "darn right!" but didn't. There was something nagging her at the back of her mind, a curiosity that couldn't quite be left alone. As much as it bothered her to know what Gibson was now mentally "Vibro", and that he didn't even know that he once was part of a galactic hero team that prevented evil and chaos, she still was piqued about what his part of the story was. 

"We have plenty of time." she mentioned with a shrug. She found herself looking at her own fighting unit, beaten like an old sweat sock, it was tattered and torn almost as bad as Otto's had been. She was suspicious it would take them more than to lunch to put it back together. 

"Well, ok then..." 

Gibson brought out a pair of large drills, only the groves where smoothed out and glassy in appearance. Gibson strode over to her unit and hoisted himself up. Nova could hear the weak metal creak, ready to give way even under the monkey's remote weight. 

"If you could just hold this steady.." he looked down and pointed at the weak appearing metal which was the only thing that kept the foot from falling apart. Nova walked over and held it up firmly, looking up to him as he began to stitch together a lengthy rupture in the heel. 

"See, I need to stay in the Arctic because humans on Earth are ever so nervous about an intelligent specie besides their own. Since humans occupy nearly every land mass on the Earth, I naturally moved to a spot where I couldn't be easily found. Humans hardly ever venture into the North, since it's too bloody cold for them to handle. For a while, it was for me too I admit... oh, could you please give this a pull?" Gibson waved his hand to a thick chord that stuck out to the side. Nova took away one hand from holding up the metal, and yanked it roughly, feeling the entire Super Robot shudder. 

"Oh, well, looks like the nervous system is fine." he chuckled, gently tapping the leg. 

"What did you do on Earth?" asked Nova, who suddenly wasn't interested in fixing the Super Robot anymore. She kept her eyes on him inquisitively, suddenly forgetting the tough shell she put on. She was simply too curious for now... 

"Humans are always getting into trouble. They are a very messy species, if it isn't killing, raping or enslaving each other, it's blowing up entire cities or even innocent creatures and their homes. They fail to notice the harm the cause until they are forced to move because of it. Brilliant humans are, but sometimes incredibly thick..." he shook his head and mumbled a few inaudible words that Nova didn't catch. 

"I sort out whatever chaos I can, and clean up messes that they leave behind. Whatever I can do really, not so much as the heroic antics that your team puts up, fighting monsters and all. However, one of those do pop up in a while, I'm not usually the one that keeps care of it." 

"That sounds terrible, I'd hate to go there." admitted Nova quietly. Even though it was all imaginary, Nova could picture this place very clearly... her feet soaked in blood, standing in a place where the horizon was choked with dead bodies strewn underneath a smokey yellow sky. She'd rather fight a thousand monsters then deal with a species that couldn't even work together... however, Gibson looked down abruptly at her, his eyes so bright they caught her offgaurd. 

"Oh, but Earth has a wonderful upside to you know!" he said assuringly "Even though it can be very unforgiving, the nature there is definitely worth fighting for, and some humans know that as well as me." 

"Oh?" 

The two of them spent the morning working furiously, but at least for Nova, it was as though she where simply in a movie. "Vibro" explained of his home planet with colorful details that spawned beautiful paintings in Nova's head. She listened in awe to the descriptions of the humid, tropical rain forests, filled with exotic fauna of rainbowed colors and where danger lurked at every step. Then she was submerged in the oceans, swimming among living creatures that where almost as big as the Super Robot itself. Down below, there where delicate coral reefs that where like giant gardens, only they pulsed with more life than any plant to give as fish and sharks twisted themselves about their razor edges. And then, she'd be flying above the open waterfalls and forests and canyons, where lakes and streams twisted themselves like florissant ribbons reflecting the sun. She'd marvel at the majestic beauty of the tall mountain peaks and the caves that took thousands of years to form. 

All of this Vibro spoke of, as fluently and as casually as if he himself had lived through it all. She couldn't help but stare at him, her eyes glazed over in awe, wondering where on earth he had gotten this vivid imagination. Vivid, vibrant... she thought. Suddenly, the name "Vibro" sounded very fitting for him, for this blue monkey who stood in front of her, throwing out artistic words as he worked on her unit, was no longer worthy of the drab name of "Gibson." 

Once in a while, he would stop to look at Nova, and in his wild stories, would draw marquees in the air to further exaggerate how vast the auroraborialis would stretch it's curtains, or how the fierce fights between loins and hyenas would commence over their hard battle of bringing down the giant elephant. Nova would say nothing but utter words of amazement to keep him going with his stories. Sometimes she'd consider telling him something of Shuggazume, but found herself tongue tied as most of their adventures where off world. She found herself disappointed to realize that beyond the small city of Shuggazume, there was little more to speak of but the Zone of Wasted Years, a desolate rock land where hardly any life existed. Besides, she didn't want Vibro to stop, and needless to say he obliged. 

Before they knew it, they where done by early afternoon. 

--- 

That night, little Nova lay wide awake in her bedroll, but not just because she didn't want to go to sleep. In fact, she was exhausted, and could bearly bring herself to lift even the tip of her tail. Her mind buzzed with images of fierce leopards and tall giraffe's, which sounded frightening and beautiful, just the way she liked things. She realized she wanted to visit this planet Earth more than anything, to see all of these amazing things. However, her heart sank a little. Earth wasn't real, and neither was any of the folly stories that "Vibro" had explained, no matter how beautiful they sounded. It was just science fiction. 

Turning over in her bed restlessly, her hand sought out the book in her pillowcase. Bringing it out before her, she sat up and opened it carefully, examining it. There was Gibson's old familiar handwriting, neat and small, and conscientious. She trailed her metal fingers across the thin pages, wondering how many hours the scientist took sitting in his lab writing this thing. She didn't understand the carefully plotted equations and intricate illustrations that he used, some of them she couldn't decide if they where a telescope or some sort of alien technology that he was considering inventing. 

She sighed "It must be lonely having all that knowledge and no one to share it with..." but then something in the lower corner of the page caught her eye and she brought the book closer to her face. 

There was a little drawing of a planet, definitely not Shuggazume Nova realized right away since the continents where all out of whack. It was small and humble, and looked as though Gibson simply scribbled down the image before the team had to go on a mission. Below it was a brief description... 

"I've been having strange dreams of this awkward little planet. From what my sources tell me, it's a planet that shares our galaxy and takes several days to reach. I've yet to learn the name of this suspicious little ecosystem where there is a great promise of life and chaos. In fact, the main species who live there are quite advanced and if not more so then Shuggazume..." 

Nova eagerly read on: 

"Edit 87: The super computer has finally formalized a name for this place from the satalights surrounding the planet broadcasting information, this planet is dubbed: "Earth". Pronounced "ER-th". I will investigate more so if my dreams are not settled by this tibit of information." 

Nova forced herself to stop reading and uncrossed her eyes. She could feel her heart pounding furiously. Earth, that's the same planet that Vibro had made so many stories about! Composing herself, she looked back at the book nervously, rereading through it again. 

Earth was real... it had to be! Gibson himself wrote it, and he never made things up. If Earth existed, how much more of his story was also true? 

"Stop thinking like that Nova gosh darnit!" she snapped herself back into reality. What was she thinking? Of course his story wasn't real, he made it all up. He hit his head too hard, and now he was delusional, thinking that he was some whacko monkey from another planet! 

"Nova," 

The yellow monkey started violently, shoving her book into her bedroll and turning to see Antauri's bright blue eyes gazing back through the dimness. 

"I know you might be restless, but you need your rest for tomorrow." he said wisely, and Nova, flustered at his unflickering gaze, nodded. She felt as though he might be scanning her, and seemed to sense the book that she kept hidden in her covers. 

"Sorry chief, I'll see you in the morning." she flopped back down in her pillow and shut her eyes, but knowing all too well that Antauri could see through her fib, but after a few moments of silence, she peeped open one eye.

Antauri had made it to the door, (which had been fixed that afternoon). She caught a flash of his eyes as they glanced backwards for a moment, and she flinched and snapped her eyes again. Keeping one open just a crack, she watched him slip soundlessly through it, until his tail was the last to go.

She wasn't the only one here with a secret. 

--- 

Thank you evreyone for the faves and comments, much appreciated. I know I havn't updated this in a while, but I've been sort of busy lately. (FYI: I havn't read through this chapter as much as I should have, so there might be some serious errors in the text. I may or may go back over them, so bear with me.) 

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